Mistakes
by Kitten With A Tie
Summary: He was sent to kill. He was supposed to kill every cat one by one. But one cat changed everything, and the plan went wrong.


Faint barking filled his ears. The tom blinked slowly before lashing his tail. Anxiety filled the tom from the tip of his ears to the tip of his tail. He shivered as the barking got closer, until a big brown brute erupted from around the Twoleg fence, drool rushing down the side of its open jaws and yellow, sharp teeth gleaming.

Yowling in fear the white tom leaped off the fence and ran as fast as he could, wind blowing his whiskers back. He felt hot breath on his back, and spun around to see the dog's black eyes gleaming intently, like tiny berries. The dog's eyes were pinned on him.

Pinned on him because he was the prey.

Shrieking, he flung himself to the nearest tree, barely getting up without feeling fangs clamp where his bristling tail had once been. He hissed a warning, swatting a paw at the dog.

The dog only barked, tail wagging fiercly, paws scrambling weakly against the bark. Shrieking filled his ears and he turned to see a Twoleg walking towards them, a tendril clamped in it's hairless paws. The dog whimpered and crouched down, its tail tucked in between its thin legs.

The Twoleg, grumbling, clamped the tendril on the dog's collar before dragging it away. Sighing, the cat climbed down the tree carefully before setting off in the strange forest.

Fear swelled in the back of his thoat, but he swallowed it down and kept walking. He sniffed the air. Prey-scent filled his nose, but so did the smell of cat.

_Cats? _he thought curiously. _There are cats around here? _He stifled an annoyed growl. If there were cats around here, then he'd fight them. He would hunt here without a cat to say otherwise.

The sound of pawsteps made him freeze. _Okay,_ he thought. _Maybe I won't fight them. I'll ask them nicely... _He let out a tiny cry of alarm when a flash of orange flew out of the bushes and tackled him. "Hey!" he shouted, squirming under the weight of the strange cat. "Listen," the cat hissed. "You're going to leave ThunderClan territory right now and go crawling back, whimpering, to Blackstar. Got it?"

"ThunderClan?" he stuttered. "Blackstar?" Her claws dug into him and he squeaked in surprise and pain. "Don't play stupid with me!" she snarled. "I know Blackstar sent-"  
"Squirrelflight!" A broad shouldered tabby padded up to them. "Squirrelflight, I've been-" he paused when he saw the white tom the she-cat had pinned down, he bristled.

"What are you doing in ThunderClan territory?" he hissed, lashing his tail, amber eyes flashing. The tom opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by the flame colored she-cat.

"Who cares what he's doing here?" she snarled. "We just need to get him out of here!" The tom wrinkled his nose. Why did she seem so interested in him a few heartbeats ago? And wasn't she mewing about _ShadowClan _and _Blackstar_?

"We should take him to Firestar," suggested the brown tabby. "And give ShadowClan a tour of our camp? No way!" retorted Squirrelflight. "I'm deputy," reminded the tom. "We're taking him to camp." _Deputy?_

"Get up." He nudged him to his paws before starting to shove him in a direction. The two cats flanked him, and for a minute he felt safe. But then a loud yowl made him spin around to see a powerful golden tabby tom leap out of the bushes with a plump thrush clamped in his jaws.

He dropped his catch and eyed the white tom. "Intruder?" he asked. "Prey-stealer? Messenger?"  
"Intruder," answered Squirrelflight. The tom bristled, and he flinched. "Thornclaw, take your catch to camp," ordered the brown tom. "There's no need to glare at him like he put a thorn in your nest." Nodding, he picked up the thrush and padded through the thorn tunnel.

Squirrelflight shoved him through it, even though he feared that thorns would rip him to shreds. "Go on!" the brown tom growled, giving him a shove from behind. The white cat carefully moved through the thorns.

As he emerged through the clearing, cats paused and gave him curious looks. "Keep your eyes glued forward, okay?" Squirrelflight hissed in his ear. He followed the cat's directions as he was led up a tumble of rocks.

A ginger tom was curled up in the back of the den, his back to them. "Firestar," the brown tabby called. "We have a visitor." Firestar let out a dry cough before looking up. His green eyes were dull, and his fur was matted, and there were many scars on his face.

"Who is this?" Firestar croaked. Squirrelflight shoved the white tom. He stumbled forward, and his paw clipped a rock and he fell forward. Firestar let out a rusty purr, then coughed again. "He can stay," the old tom rasped. "What is your name, young warrior?"

The tom looked around the den to see that there were three pairs of eyes on him. "My name is..." he took a deep breath before meowing, "My name is Swift."


End file.
